Outtakes: Devonport house by Michael O'Sullivan

We really like this home in Devonport, Auckland, by architect Michael O'Sullivan of Bull O'Sullivan Architects (who also designed our Home of the Year in 2011). The long form of the home is clad in white weatherboards, while the interior is a deliberate contrast, full of warm timber. In the photo below, the home's co-owner Iain Wood sits just outside the property. Emily Andrews took the photographs, and Yvette Jay styled the shoot.

The opulent herringbone patterned ceiling (below) is a metaphorical protective cloak thrown over the family. The kitchen, with its dramatic onyx island, features north-facing windows with vertical timber mullions that cast ever-changing patterns of light and shadow through the house.

This is the view out the other side of the living space (below), where Iain admires the sight of Auckland's Waitemata Harbour from the sofas designed by his wife, Jes. The pendant lights in this room were designed by Michael O'Sullivan and blown by Lava Glass. The 'Pebble' tables by Jerry Low and Nathan Yong and the 'Caro' rug by Carmen Stallbaumer are both Ligne Roset from Auckland's Domo Collections.

Michael tucked a downstairs rumpus room for Iain Jes' daughters on the lower level of the house and lined the space in ply (below) with a deep red carpet. 

The pared-back main bedroom (below) features monochromatic bed linen from Seneca and a bedside table from BoConcept. Michael's aesthetic reference for the home's white weatherboard exterior and warm interior was Rangiatea, the famous Maori church in Otaki.

The photo below shows the home's long, low roof pitch, which references the 1950s designs by Group Architects, many of which were also constructed on the North Shore.

We like: Rekindling Christchurch

We like Christchurch's Rekindle, a fascinating firm making furniture out of demolition timber. We also like Shop Eight, the great cafe in New Regent Street it shares its headquarters with. HOME's Jeremy Hansen spoke to Juliet Arnott, Rekindle's founder, about the business. Guy Frederick took the photographs.

Juliet Arnott, Rekindle's founder, in Shop Eight cafe. She's sitting at a table by Rekindle

HOME We love your new café and studio space. What is it comprised of?

JULIET ARNOTT Downstairs is Liz Phelan’s Shop Eight, a café we built from materials diverted from landfill including handcrafted Rekindle furniture. Upstairs is our Rekindle shared studio space. In a city where built space is so limited we’re happily working to use the small space as resourcefully as we can. We hold evening events and forums that invite discussion from a diverse audience on topics of concern. It's certainly a space that encourages conversation. 

Shop Eight cafe is located in the refurbished Christchurch heritage zone of New Regent Street.

What is Rekindle, and what made you want to start it?  

Rekindle came out of my therapeutic concerns as an occupational therapist for those who have barriers to coping in working life, and my desire to use a creative process to problem-solve wood waste. I began to see that these concerns could be met via a social enterprise that uses wood waste to create employment and beautiful products. This began in Auckland but soon after the earthquakes I decided it was time to move back to Christchurch. Rekindle is young, but we are flowing some work to community groups here who need it, and building demand for our furniture in the store and online.

A Rekindle chair in the company's workshop.

You’re located in a strange heritage oasis in the midst of the red zone. What’s that – and life in Christchurch generally – like at the moment?  

Yes it is strange, a beautiful old street set against a backdrop of demolition. We value the heritage enormously and have kept the street signage from the mid 1900s. The realities of loss are still very present in Christchurch, and we feel this particularly in our salvage work with home owners. But innovation and hope are strong features of daily life here, there are many passionate discussions about what could be. 

Rekindle furniture outside Shop Eight in Christchurch's recently reopened New Regent Street.

Shop Eight and Rekindle are located at 8 New Regent Street, Christchurch. Click here for more information about Rekindle. 

Outtakes: McKinney's transformed Kingsland Villa

Architect Jack McKinney's Auckland villa renovation featured in our June/July 2012 issue, and remains one of our favourites. In some ways, it was a classic bang-out-the-back scenario - albeit with a much more sophisticated approach. These photographs are by Patrick Reynolds. In this shot, you can see how Jack's addition preserves the line of the hallway, which runs clean through to the back yard.

After travelling past bedrooms and bathrooms, visitors to the home enter the addition, and an expansive, contemporary open-plan living, dining and kitchen space (below). The twin peaks of the additions roof stretch northwards, flooding the space with light throughout the day while maintaining privacy from the neighbouring houses. The 'Van Dyck' dining table is by Rodolfo Dordoni for Minotti from ECC, and the 'Flo' dining chairs are by Patricia Urquiola for Driade from Indice. The orange 'Strips' sofa is by Cini Boeri for Arflex.


McKinney's stainless steel kitchen exudes simplicity. Suspended above the bench is a copper pendant light (below) made by Jack from waxed copper plate.

The view below shows the home's peaked roofline and dramatic windows. The sun moves through the space like a sundial throughout the day.

Out the back of the house is the studio (below), which was originally an old garage. Its peaked roof echoes that of the home's extension.

When it came to furnishing the studio interior (below), Jack made a refreshing decision: "I like leaving it empty," he says. He also kept the concrete floor of the original garage.

This view (below) looks from the studio back to the main house.

Updated: World Architecture Festival - the NZ finalists

Seven New Zealand projects have been listed as finalists in the World Architecture Festival, to be held in Singapore in October. 

The Auckland Art Gallery, designed by FJMT and Archimedia, is a finalist in the festival's 'Culture' category (photo below by Patrick Reynolds). 

 















The Whakatane Library and Exhibition Centre (below) by Irving Smith Jack Architects (a recent winner in the NZIA national awards), is a finalist in the 'New and Old' category.

A housing development at 387 Tamaki Drive, Auckland, by Sydney-based Ian Moore Architects is a finalist in the 'Housing' category (below).

The Mackelvie Street development in Ponsonby, Auckland, by RTA Studio in is a finalist in the 'Shopping' category (below, photo by Jackie Meiring).

Also by RTA Studio, the planned 'Ice Hotel' in Queenstown is a finalist in the 'Future Projects - Leisure Led Development' category.  

An Alexandra house, also by Irving Smith Jack Architects, is a finalist in the 'Villa' category (photo below by Patrick Reynolds; look out for this in an upcoming issue of HOME).

 

The Auckland Zoo giraffe house (rendering below), by Glamuzina Paterson and Hamish Monk Architects, is a finalist in the 'Display' category. 

Congratulations to all the finalists! We'll keep you up to date with details later in the year when the winners are announced at the festival.

Our new cover

Here's the cover of our special Design Issue, featuring a group of our stunning furniture and lighting Design Awards finalists. The photo is by Toaki Okano, and the shoot was conceptualised and styled by Sarah Conder and Juliette Wanty. 

We don't like to brag, but we think this issue's an absolute peach. It focuses on the homes of product designers like IMO's Sam Haughton and Hannah Brodie and their enviable inner-city Auckland pad, or industrial designer Ross Stevens, who worked for Philippe Starck in Europe and is building an amazing Wairarapa home out of recycled coolstore panels. 

In this issue, we also travel to Canada's icy Fogo Island to visit artist Kate Newby, who's on a residency in an incredible studio there. And we go to Antarctica to see the restoration job on Robert Falcon Scott's rudimentary huts.

Also! We check out typographer Len Cheesman's lovely Greytown garden, our correspondents report back from Milan Design Week, we inspect a delightful dessert restaurant in Auckland by Cheshire Architects, and much more....

We hope you enjoy it. The issue's on newsstands from Monday June 3.

The Art Issue: our new cover

Our new cover, which we're rather pleased with, features a photo by Nicole Bachmann of the London home of New Zealand sculptor Francis Upritchard and her husband, furniture designer Martino Gamper. It's on newsstands from Monday February 4. We think it's pretty good, and we hope you like it too. 

Inside the magazine is a visual feast, featuring homes and studios of artists and collectors including Tony de Lautour, Rohan Wealleans, Fiona Pardington, Bill Sutton, Dick Frizzell, Anthony Goicolea, Emily Wolfe, and more. We cover a lot of ground, from Christchurch to Hawke's Bay, London and Auckland - all of it in the service of inspiring you, our readers, of course.